Washington ? U.S. support for ending Cuba’s nearly 50-year-old suspension from the Organization of American States has given the Obama administration greater clout in the region at little cost, according to diplomats and experts.

But President Barack Obama’s efforts to engage Havana and promote reform on the communist island did not appear greatly advanced by the OAS move because Cuba has no plans to rejoin the organization.

And prospects for improved U.S.-Cuba ties may have been damaged by Friday’s federal charges against a former State Department intelligence analyst for allegedly spying for Cuba over a 30-year period.

The administration has been denounced by conservative lawmakers for accepting the OAS compromise, and many of those critics probably will seize on the espionage case to argue against further engagement.

Still, regional experts do not believe the U.S. change of position at the OAS signals any real shift in policy.